Scalpel woes

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I am currently 2-2 versus scalpel (1-1 with both captains) and it is the hardest matchup that I have played thus far in season 4 with farmers. I am wondering what tactics you take into her. *This is at a very high skill level and competitive scene.

Problems -

1- getting pushed out of or away from the setup that I have created

2- crowd outs and easy wrapping for morts players because of voodoo strings

3- The ability to switch styles mid game and goal score (midnight offering 7 inches, sprint 9, 4 inch dodge after goal and then 4 inch dodge from second wind.)

This one is particularly hard after I set up the scrum and actually feel like I have an advantage, she scores and typically can generate enough momentum to be in the running, and then if she goes first can spirit bomb voodoo strings herself back to a goal scoring opportunity.

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Scalpel indeed feels like a tough nut to crack for the Farmers, but it's certainly doable.

I'd say the usual 2 line-ups are Scalpel, Dirge, Cosset, vHemlocke, Graves and then either the defensive option of Casket or the aggressive option of Bonesaw.

In my opinion, Thresher certainly is the way to go, as Grange can be too much of an easy target when he's not yet activated yet. Tough Hide certainly helps negate some of Scalpel's kill pressure, but Voodoo Strings will negate all of the work you've put in with Close Ranks.If Grange hasn't Tough Hide'd himself, a Tooled Up Scalpel can just one-round him. Thresher can at least match Scalpel's kill pressure, so it should be an even trade-off per turn.

The mascot is also easy. Buckwheat really does nothing to thwart the Scalpel missile. Peck can at least kill the ball and clear knock-downs and poison/fire if the opponent decides to bring either Vileswarm or Silence.

Tater also is a no-brainer. He's a 5+ against Scalpel and Cosset, and brings some extra clock pressure via Fork Off. Sure, Casket's Ghostly Visage can deal with some of Fork Off's pressure, but it forces a certain activation order. The low health of the Morticians also makes Tater's extra damage on a charge very useful. Blasting off 1/3 of a model's health with a single charge is nothing to scoff at (unless you're called Sledge).

Ploughman is another no-brainer, certainly with Casket on the field. His True Path totally negates Casket's Foul Odour, and he brings 2 harvest markers per turn for free. His Broken Earth can also force some momentum usage from the Mortician player, and his easy pushes and 20 health make him a hard target to kill for anyone, but Scalpel herself.

From here on out, it's a bit harder, but I'd say that Jackstraw is another good contender. Ranged Harvest Markers is something that Thresher really likes, and a 5+ with Reanimate and his ability to just teleport means he should be another model that is very hard to take out, and to hide the ball on. Thresher and Jackstraw together might also be able to score a few goals, if the Morticians player makes some mistakes in his defensive positioning.

The last model to pick is a tad harder to choose. The choice is between going for a Planter or a Reaper. At the moment, you have an influence generation of 9 and Harvest Marker generation of 4. This should be enough to choose another Reaper.

Fallow should not be a choice, as Scalpel can easily undo her positioning with Voodoo Strings, and she brings quite a heavy toll on your Harvest Markers. Her 1" melee zone also brings her efficiency down quite a bit.

Windle is a HUGE target. Yes, he can deal major damage, but he should be the last one to go in, which is also Thresher's spot. If Windle goes in earlier, Scalpel and/or Cosset can deal massive damage against him, and might even be able to one-round him. With Casket on the field, I would not want to field such a liability. If he's not taking someone out before he himself is taken out, it's not worth bringing him. Certainly do not bring him if the opponent fields Silence!

The last Reaper to choose from is Bushel. And in my opinion, she is actually your best option. Due to the low health pools of the Morticians, Thresher and Tater should have no problem taking out at least 2 models. If, alongside that, you have another goal threat in Thresher through the middle, and Bushel and Jackstraw on the wings, you might even be able to score 2 goals as well. With Scalpel's ability to switch up the field so strongly, you really want to finish the match early, and a 2-2 should be quicker than a 1-4 strategy.

If you're more of a defensive player, you can decide to go for another Planter. Your choices here are Harrow, Millstone and veteran Honour.

Harrow's healing aura won't be that massive, knowing that Scalpel and Cosset can dish out massive amounts of damage. Also, both ladies have a threat range of 10", so going for Marked Target makes Harrow a target himself. He actually doesn't bring anything else to the table.

Veteran Honour can reposition Harvest Markers, giving Tater the ability to position quite agressively and still have Fork Off active. Also, her legendary works as Midnight Offering, so you can make Thresher's threat range enormous for one turn. She also brings another cast of Cocksure, which makes that you can defend against KD's on both Thresher ánd another model.

Millstone is also another very strong pick. Her Battering Ram gives you the option of getting in the Mortician's face even faster, and Take One For the Team makes that Thresher can negate TWO conditions. She would also certainly be my pick, if my opponent would field Bonesaw. Goal Defence on Peck is hilarious! Make him work for those goals!

So yeah, my three 6's would be

Thresher, Peck, Ploughman, Tater, Jackstraw, Bushel for a more aggressive playstyle (3-0 and 2-2 both possible)

Thresher, Peck, Ploughman, Tater, Jackstraw, vHonour for a more mobile playstyle (1-4 and 2-2 both possible)

Thresher, Peck, Ploughman, Tater, Jackstraw, Millstone for a more defensive playstyle, mostly against Bonesaw (1-4 and 2-2 both possible)

I'm not saying that it should be easy defeating Scalpel using one of these three line-ups, but at least this is my view (as a Scalpel player) what would be the best way of dealing with her.

Obviously, the VP generators (Scalpel, Cosset, Bonesaw if fielded) should be your primary targets, but taking out Graves before Tooled Up hits makes Scalpel a lot less scary.

If the Mortician player plays it right, vHemlocke should never be in your sights, but when playing the Bushel team, she is your worst enemy with Blind and Midnight Offering. Luckily, Jackstraw and Bushel are both 5+ and Thresher can still go for the kill after being Blinded.

Honestly, if my opponent puts resources into killing Casket, I'm quite happy, as he's not going for my actual damage dealers or goal scorers. Usually, I trade his 2 VP's for one or two take-outs of my own, or a TO and a goal.

There's a possibility the Morticians might field Silence, but I'd say that that's just for Tucked/Shutout. On a 8" range, this means that Silence is positioning himself quite close to the Farmers front line, which makes him a target. Cocksure and Peck's heroic just negate anything that he can do with Fire Blast. In my opinion, bringing Silence instead of Casket or Bonesaw is a mistake, but a good Tucked or Shutout can destroy any plans that you might have, so don't immediately discard his threat.

I know I might throw in some of my own chances in winning by posting this, but as a pundit I'm more for helping the community get better than going for my own winnings.

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The mascot is also easy. Buckwheat really does nothing to thwart the Scalpel missile. Peck can at least kill the ball and clear knock-downs and poison/fire if the opponent decides to bring either Vileswarm or Silence.

...

Veteran Honour can reposition Harvest Markers, giving Tater the ability to position quite agressively and still have Fork Off active. Also, her legendary works as Midnight Offering, so you can make Thresher's threat range enormous for one turn. She also brings another cast of Cocksure, which makes that you can defend against KD's on both Thresher ánd another model.

...

I agree with most of what you said. However, in my experience everything that can (re-) reposition models after Scalpel's activation is huge, and Buckwheat/vHonour bring that in very different ways.

I. e. in some of my games Buckwheat (who is VERY fast) was able to push Morts forward several times and thus force engagements Scalpel tried to avoid. But Peck is also always a good choice.

Also, I found that Grange is a possibility, But you have to be very conscious where to put Tough Hide + heals. Scalpel needs at least one activation for Tooled Up, so he should be able to activate in time. His damage output can also be also quite similar to Threshers.

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As a Morticians player, I am pretty sure I would take Silence into Farmers to control either captain.

but that is kind of what farmers are looking for: High defense, low health, and little defensive tech. If I bring grange and you force him to go last then that means putting silence in danger for a tater charge.

This whole matchup feels like it is all about knowing where to give up points and how to counter score your own VP's (At least from the farmers perspective). Most line ups I play against (and these are really good players) are scalpel, dirge, cosset, vet hemlock, graves1, and flex (bonesaw or casket normally). It is a tough game for sure.

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Cosset doesn't even make my 12 man roster and I rarely use Casket. Bonesaw is almost always in my 6 and the last slot is Silence or Ghast most of the time. Tater is annoying indeed, but he doesn't take a model out on his own.

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but that is kind of what farmers are looking for: High defense, low health, and little defensive tech. If I bring grange and you force him to go last then that means putting silence in danger for a tater charge.﻿

...assuming your their positioning allows for that, which, in a competitive scene, as you said, is unlikely.

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...assuming your their positioning allows for that, which, in a competitive scene, as you said, is unlikely.

Not necessarily. The only real re-positioning on the morts team is scalpel. If silence is activating first to get a crucial blind or tucked then the farmer player "should" still have decent positioning. This is talking about the pre-clash, top of 2, not sure how how that argument holds up during and after round 3.

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Not necessarily. The only real re-positioning on the morts team is scalpel. If silence is activating first to get a crucial blind or tucked then the farmer player "should" still have decent positioning. This is talking about the pre-clash, top of 2, not sure how how that argument holds up during and after round 3.

Midnight offering yoyo FTW! You can drag Silence back unless he's knocked down. Wisely placed fire AoE can also reduce threat range of the farmers. Also - Silence has no blind, unluckily.